Black Paper Party Update | Shark Tank Season 15

Holiday decor rarely reflected Black families or their experiences, leaving them out of the seasonal narrative. That led J’Aaron Merchant, Jasmine Hudson, and Madia Willis to create Black Paper Party, a festive line of gift wrap, ornaments, and decor featuring Black and Brown characters. Will the sharks help them take it even further? Here’s how things played out in our Black Paper Party update and pitch recap.

If you’re short on time, here’s a quick overview of what happened to Black Paper Party after Shark Tank.

Jasmine, Madia, and J’Aaron pitched their line of holiday products on Shark Tank Season 15, seeking $250,000 for 5% equity. Ultimately, they made a deal with Barbara Corcoran for $250,000 for 10% equity.

In terms of a Black Paper Party update, the company expanded beyond holiday wrapping paper, launching new collections for birthdays, Black History Month, and everyday giftware.

Shark:	Result:
Barbara Corcoran	Accepted deal for $250,000 for 10% equity
Mark Cuban & Barbara Corcoran	$250,000 for 20% equity
Lori Greiner	No offer
Kevin O’Leary	No offer
Daymond John	No offer

Shark Tank Black Paper Party Pitch

• Entrepreneurs: Jasmine Hudson, Madia Willis, J’Aaron Merchant
• Business: Holiday products for Black representation
• Ask: $250,000 for 5% equity
• Result: $250,000 for 10% equity
• Shark: Barbara Corcoran

Jasmine, Madia, and J’Aaron told the sharks that holiday products often exclude Black families. Most wrapping paper and seasonal décor don’t reflect their culture.

That’s why they launched a line of culturally relevant holiday products that celebrate Black joy and representation.

They design and sell wrapping paper, ornaments, gift bags, stockings, mugs, and other items. Their characters include Papa and Nana Claus, angels, and gnome-like figures.

Additionally, they create all designs in-house. J’Aaron handles the character illustrations. Madia turns them into print-ready patterns for product use.

The business sells directly to consumers and through licensing. They currently have over 200 SKUs.

Their products are stocked in over 6,000 stores, including Target, Walmart, Macy’s, Dollar General, and Family Dollar.

Lori Greiner asked about their backgrounds. Each founder had experience in studio design, retail, and home décor. That knowledge helped them build a polished, scalable product line.

Kevin O’Leary asked if they were profitable. Jasmine said they made $158,000 in net profit in 2022 after paying themselves. Their sales started with $44,000 in 2020 before entering retail.

That grew to $274,000 in 2021 and $844,000 in 2022. At the time of filming, they were on track to hit $1.1 million.

Mark Cuban asked about costs. Jasmine said each roll of wrapping paper costs $2.33 to make and retails for $10. The price is competitive with similar premium products.

Daymond John asked if they planned to expand beyond holiday items. Madia said yes.

They had plans to launch product lines for Black History Month, Valentine’s Day, birthdays, baby showers, and graduations.

Lori asked what kind of support they needed from a shark. They said they needed help scaling ecommerce and marketing.

Their current retail growth was hard to manage. They had already turned down new accounts due to bandwidth issues.

Kevin didn’t like their distribution strategy. He thought they should be using a major distributor and said they should already be doing more than $1 million in revenue. He backed out.

Daymond also had doubts. He didn’t think the business justified the $5 million valuation.

Lori liked the mission but said she avoids seasonal businesses. She passed.

Meanwhile, Barbara Corcoran offered $250,000 for 15% equity. Mark asked to join the deal. Together, they offered $250,000 for 20% equity.

Then, Madia countered with $450,000 for 18% equity. Barbara and Mark declined.

So, Madia then countered Barbara at $250,000 for 10% equity, leaving Mark out of the deal.

Barbara eventually agreed, and Jasmine, Madia, and J’Aaron left Shark Tank with a deal.

What do you think happened following Shark Tank? Keep reading our Black Paper Party update to find out!

Shark Tank Black Paper Party Update

Our Black Paper Party update found that after the episode aired, the deal with Barbara Corcoran closed successfully.

In an interview with Black Dollar Magazine, the founders shared that they were “pleasantly surprised” and looked forward to “growing and learning with Barbara.”

CEO Madia Willis also shared that Corcoran’s network was already helping to accelerate their growth.

Further, in 2024, they introduced new product lines beyond holiday wrapping paper. These included birthday items, Black History Month collections, and expanded giftware.

Most notably, they launched in over 5,000 Dollar General stores and rolled out new seasonal lines with Kohl’s.

Their products stayed rooted in cultural representation, but the offerings grew. They added ceramics, pajamas, candles, swimwear, home décor, and accessories.

The brand kept its presence in major retailers like Walmart, Target, Macy’s, CVS, and Family Dollar.

They also secured custom collaborations, including a ModCloth holiday wrap at Target and a holiday collection with Macy’s.

A feature on the Today Show, along with coverage in Ebony, Bloomberg, and Black Enterprise, helped draw in more buyers.

The company recently earned recognition as a 2025 Licensing International Awards finalist. They also launched a Kiva fundraising campaign for $25,000 to support future production.

We will be sure to let you know if we get more Black Party Paper update.

In the meantime, you can check out our other company updates from Season 15 Episode 8 by following the links below!

• Pick Up Bricks Update
• Snow in Seconds Update
• The Tomte Cake Update

Before you go, be sure to check out our list of all the Shark Tank Season 15 products.